These things all have something in common...
They were all pulled out of dumpsters.
I have been thinking about whether or not I wanted to post about this, because there is a stigma associated with dumpster diving. But I think the real shame should be in those who throw perfectly good things away because they are too lazy to deal with all of their stuff. I can't even tell you how sick seeing all the things in the dumpster has made me.
Edited to add: Amber made a good point in my comments that I meant to add here. This happens every year in Corvallis as college kids move out of the dorms and out of their apartments. So this waste is being generated by partially college educated youth in an environmentally friendly state, in a very environmentally friendly city. Every year I am dumbfounded by the waste - aren't the younger generations supposed to "get it"??? I try not to think about the fact that this is happening in every college town across the country, but this is a real problem. The mentality seems to be that if you didn't pay for it, or you don't have to pay for the replacement, then it is disposable. This is pure laziness and a lack of accountability. I have some free time on my hands, I think I might just write a letter to the university addressing this issue...
Uggs, Aaron got most of that stain out. I feel like a cool kid now!
These look like they were worn once (through mud)
These too.
Works
An IMac scrapped for some parts, but mostly intact
A refrigerator, Aaron found it with ice and food still inside
Tons of wood and a snowboard with bindings
Ed Hardy purse with tags still attached
A comforter and a blanket - they look like they were purchased less than a year ago (hmm, maybe in the fall??)
A pillow, a like new mattress pad and two blankets
Batiked fabric
Here is a box of things to go for donation somewhere. Suggestions welcome! I was going to call the Jackson Street Youth Shelter to see if they could use bedding. We will donate what we don't want or can't sell easily. Much of what we pulled out was just to keep it from going into the landfill - if it was clean and in good shape we tried to take it.
We also pulled out a broken TV to take into recycling.
Either not shown, not taken, or we couldn't haul it all home:
Multiple televisions
Silverware still in the silverware tray
Canned food, packaged food still in the box, random things out of refrigerators (packages of Tillamook cheese, yogurt, bottles of ketchup)
A Simple Human garbage can (full of garbage and tossed in the dumpster, now cleaned up and in our bathroom!)
Dishes
Glasses
Tupperware
Furniture
A shopping cart (??)
Clothing
Exercise equipment
Pencils, pens, rulers, glue
So many recyclables - school papers, bottles, cans, newspaper
People literally cleaned out their kitchen and threw it all in the trash - pots, pans, glasses, food
Or their bed - pillow, blankets, sheets
Or their bathroom - bottles of shampoo, bottles of vitamins, shower caddies
After one day of this Aaron said, if people just donated what was still good and recycled what could be recycled, the dumpsters would have been almost empty. My question is, who are these people that think it is perfectly acceptable to do this? No wonder our world is in such a state. Everything is disposable to some people. At least we saved a few things from being wasted, but I know we didn't even put a dent in it. I wish the dorms would get a little more organized and make it easier for people to donate and recycle. But maybe if people don't care, it doesn't matter how easy it is, because obviously there are options in place already.
Sorry I don't have a picture of Aaron actually in a dumpster for you, it's pretty funny.
